


Tenderness Like a Bramble

by Rose Argent (roseargent)



Category: Saiyuki Gaiden
Genre: Domesticity, Injury, M/M, Punishment, honor bondage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-24 08:25:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17700890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseargent/pseuds/Rose%20Argent
Summary: Kenren returns home from a mission gone wrong to find Tenpou's room is a disaster, and Tenpou himself is none too pleased at Kenren's injury.





	Tenderness Like a Bramble

**Author's Note:**

  * For [opalmatrix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/opalmatrix/gifts).



> Set in the time before Nataku, when the Western Army was busier. 
> 
> Title is very indirectly taken from the Issa haiku:
> 
>  
> 
> _Everything I touch_  
>  with tenderness, alas,  
> pricks like a bramble.
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoy the fic!

Kenren eased between two stacks of books, following the smell of cigarette smoke towards the centre of the maze that had somehow sprung up in Tenpou's room in the short time since he cleaned it last. How did it get this bad again this fast? "Tenpou!" He tried calling out again, but Tenpou was either so lost in a book he really wasn't hearing Kenren, or he was pretending not to. "Tenpou, you're going to be late!" And if Tenpou didn't show up to this meeting, Kenren was going to have to. No one wanted Kenren to be the sole representative of their unit at a long strategy meeting today, least of all Kenren.

He broke out into clear space unexpectedly, stumbling a couple steps to keep from falling on his face. The sudden movement had him hissing and raising a hand to his injured side, but he straightened up when he saw his prey. Tenpou was sprawled in a chair, a book in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The cigarette had a long tail of ash, like Tenpou had forgotten he was holding it at all. Kenren grabbed the ashtray in a hurry, jamming it under the cigarette before that ash fell and ruined yet another white coat. "Tenpou!"

The annoyed snarl inches away from his ear was apparently enough to finally get Tenpou's attention; he blinked up at Kenren, glanced at the tableau with ashtray and forgotten cigarette, and gave one last, longing look at the page he'd been reading. "Did you need something from me, General?"

"You're supposed to be at that meeting in fifteen minutes."

There was a brief pause. Kenren could see Tenpou doing the math in his head, and coming to the inevitable conclusion that Kenren was right and the meeting was today. "Oh. Well, it's only in the next building. I can make it there in fifteen minutes."

Kenren just looked at Tenpou. Waited another moment. Tenpou finally looked down at himself, at his white coat and casual slacks, every inch of them wrinkled hopelessly. There was a stain of indeterminate origins on one knee. "Oh. This won't do? I'm wearing--"

"No, not even if you're wearing a tie. You look like you slept in those clothes." Which he probably did, if he slept at all. "Up. Go freshen up and change. Fast."

Without any further time-wasting argument, Tenpou went. The sound of running water was oddly soothing, and Kenren felt his eyelids start to grow heavy. When has he last slept? He'd come here straight from a scouting mission, intending to leave his report on the desk while Tenpou was out, only to find Tenpou hadn't left yet.

When Tenpou came back he was all Field Marshal Tenpou, cool and professional and sharp as a sword; even if he wasn't wearing his uniform, the transformation was obvious to anyone who paid attention. Not that most people outside their unit did, which would no doubt bite them on the ass someday. Well, hopefully Kenren would be there to see it when it did. He gave Tenpou a quick check, straightened his tie a little, but everything was mostly in order. The uniform would have been better, but at least Tenpou looked clean and neat now. "You'll do. You have less than ten minutes."

The door clicked shut behind Tenpou, and Kenren eyed the towering piles of books. He'd have to clean these up or they'd collapse again. But damn, he didn't want to today. He was tired, and if he was being honest with himself he was hurting. It had been a long week, and he'd expected to come back to... well, yeah, a mess, but not this level of mess, not in a week. Well, that was what he got for indulging himself and going on the scouting trip personally, when it was really kind of below his pay grade.

A short rest should do the trick. The couch was only partially covered in books--Tenpou must have shoved some off in order to take a nap on it at some point. At least he'd rested that much in the week Kenren had been gone. Kenren groaned as he sat down, and was instantly glad that no one had been there to hear it; he was starting to sound like the useless old men in the upper ranks. Something poked him in the back as he leaned into the plush couch, and he remembered the report he'd jammed into his belt while he tried to squeeze through Tenpou's book maze. It was more than a little rumpled when he pulled it out, but it was only the internal report anyway--no one but Tenpou would see this copy. He laid it on the couch beside him, smoothing it out absently with one hand as he closed his eyes. Just for a minute.

Kenren woke to a figure looming over him, fingers on his as they tried to slide the report out from under his hand, and his gun was half drawn before he realised it was Tenpou. How long had he been out? The light from the window suggested it was dawn, which meant the answer was "too long."

It was hard to say for sure with the morning light behind him, throwing his face into shadow, but the look on Tenpou's face seemed a little too calm, too focused, like it did when he ticked off. "Is this report going to tell me why you look like the risen dead?"

"I don't look that bad." He couldn't possibly, after sleeping for hours.

Tenpou narrowed his eyes at Kenren, clearly not satisfied with the answer. He was going to be in for more disappointment when he read the report, too--Kenren hadn't planned on running into Tenpou at all, so he'd left out certain things. Everything important was there, all the information they'd gone down to the World Below for, but he'd understated a few mostly irrelevant details.

"Why is your uniform done all the way up?"

Of course, now he noticed the little things. Neither distracted by a book nor rushing to a meeting, Field Marshal Tenpou's full attention was on Kenren. Which was pretty much what Kenren had hoped to avoid by leaving the report while Tenpou was out. "I'm fine."

Letting go of the report for now, Tenpou moved his hands to the front of Kenren's uniform and yanked it open. Kenren didn't bother trying to stop him--what was the point? When Tenpou saw the mass of black and purple bruising that was Kenren's left side, he said calmly, "The purpose of a scouting mission is to observe without being caught, General Kenren."

"Yeah, well, the not being caught part went a little sideways."

"The others?" Concern flickered in Tenpou's eyes for a moment, pushing back the icy quiet of his anger.

"Not a scratch on 'em. I'd have told you right off if anyone had been hurt. What do you take me for?" Kenren had covered the retreat, of course. But man, he hadn't been expecting something that big to be that fast. Big, strong, and fast was some unfair bullshit.

"You haven't been to the infirmary."

Kenren shrugged. "Ribs aren't broken, just bruised real good. Nothing for them to do. I have liniment already."

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a moment, Tenpou spoke slowly, like to a child. Or an idiot. "You could have internal bleeding."

"Fine, fine." Kenren threw his hands up in surrender. "I'll swing by the infirmary before heading back to my quarters." The cleaning up was going to have to wait, much as he worried about Tenpou dying under a book-valanche--he could already tell that the (too long) nap had left him stiff and sore. Levering himself up off the couch without making more old-man noises took more effort than he would ever admit to.

Just before the door closed behind Kenren on his way out, he heard Tenpou ask softly, "And the one that did this to you?"

Not looking back, because he didn't need to see the look Tenpou wore right now to know exactly which one it was, Kenren shrugged again. "Captured and sealed, of course." It even had the benefit of being the truth.

"Good," Tenpou said, but he didn't sound like he meant it.

The medics confirmed what Kenren already knew--bruised ribs--and gave him more liniment in case he didn't have enough.

He was half expecting it, honestly, so when he opened the door to his quarters and found Tenpou waiting for him, he only smiled and shook his head. "Checking up on me?"

"You obviously can't be trusted with simple tasks." Yeah, he was still mad. Kenren reminded himself that more than anything Tenpou was pissed that he hadn't been able to protect the men under his command--Kenren included--but it wasn't that reassuring. Tenpou's concern and care could be plenty scary.

Tenpou took the jar of liniment from his hand, and towed him into the bedroom. "Strip and get on the bed."

Kenren opened his mouth to make a lewd comment, but the look on Tenpou's face stopped it in his throat. Yeah, okay, maybe later.

Stripping was easier said than done, in the end. Kenren had definitely stiffened up on the left side, which made things like bending and twisting... unpleasant. Tenpou ended up having to help him with his pants, and it was businesslike and abrupt and it shouldn't have been sexy. But it was Tenpou, taking off his pants, and apparently that nap had done Kenren more good than he'd thought. If Tenpou didn't notice right away, he certainly did once he had Kenren lying on the bed on his back, but the only attention he paid the issue was a brief glance and a raised eyebrow.

The liniment smelled of herbs and sharpness, but especially of menthol. The cooling feeling of it sinking into his bruised flesh was almost enough to distract Kenren from the knowledge that Tenpou was kneeling straddling his thighs, while he carefully rubbed the liniment into his side.

He was pretty sure the position was 100% unnecessary and 100% on purpose.

There was a lot of bruise. It must have taken half the jar to cover it all, and Tenpou had taken his time with it. The smell of menthol in his nose was bracing, and Kenren was very thoroughly awake now. The tingling feel of it on his skin, that was something else entirely--especially when Tenpou's careful, lovely fingers were the ones rubbing it on.

When he was done, Tenpou sat back on his heels, still astride Kenren's thighs. He eyed Kenren's erection openly now, thoughtfully. Kenren watched him rub the tips of his fingers together, still slick with liniment. Menthol-filled liniment. Kenren swallowed his instinctive "oh, fuck no," instead just looking at Tenpou as neutrally as he could.

Tenpou wasn't buying it, but he smiled and cleaned his hands off with a towel. "It would be an interesting experiment, but maybe not today." Kenren's flash of relief turned to frustration as Tenpou continued, "I should probably let you get some rest. You're not in any condition for fun."

"I'm fine!" Kenren knew Tenpou was playing this game to rile him up, but it worked, okay?

"You don't look fine." Tenpou looked pointedly at the really pretty extensive bruising. "You tried to hide being injured at all. Why should I believe you now?"

Okay, so he was doing it to rile Kenren up and to punish him for getting himself hurt then trying to hide it. "Actions speak louder than words. Let me show you I'm just fine."

The smile that spread across Tenpou's face was at once wicked and serene. "On your knees, then."

Not quite where Kenren had expected it to go, at least not right away, but he was entirely okay with this turn of events. Tenpou made no move to help him, except to move back off his legs, but the liniment had loosened the knots in Kenren's muscles enough that he was able to shift onto his hands and knees without much trouble. He felt Tenpou move behind him, and then he was leaning forward over Kenren's back, reaching past him to the nightstand drawer that held the lube. The nice, normal, non-mentholated lube.

There were traces of that liniment left on Tenpou's hands, though, Kenren discovered after a few moments--just enough to tingle ever so slightly, just enough to make him more aware than ever of each movement of Tenpou's fingers inside him. He arched his back, feeling the strain in his abused ribs, and his breath hitched for just a moment before he forced himself to relax again. Tenpou was taking his time, each movement slow and deliberate, but he stopped entirely then, hands going still but not withdrawing. "Should I stop?" Such an innocent-sounding question.

Kenren's answering laugh was a little shaky, but not from pain. "No. I'm good."

"If you move again, I'll stop." No teasing in Tenpou's voice, this time--it was a simple statement of fact. He'd do it, too, no matter how worked up Kenren was at the time.

"I can hold still."

He couldn't see it, but Kenren could just feel the cat-with-cream smile Tenpou was directing at his back. "We'll see about that."

Until that moment, Kenren hadn't fully grasped just how well Tenpou knew his body. Every touch from then on was like a targeted strike, setting Kenren's nerves afire until he was shaking, sweat trickling down his temples and dripping off the end of his nose as he fought the urge to move, to press into each too-light touch, to chase the fleeting caresses, to writhe under Tenpou's hands. He was breathing hard--and, oh, he felt every inhale in his bruised ribs--but he wasn't ready for it to end, so he grit his teeth and tuned it out.

And then it all stopped, and Kenren couldn't quite hold back a shuddering gasp of disappointment. Had he twitched? Clenched a fist in the sheets? He didn't remember moving, but everything was getting a little fuzzy so maybe he had. But the soft sound of flesh on flesh hadn't stopped, and a moment later it was more than just Tenpou's fingers inside him.

Tenpou pushed in slowly, agonisingly slowly, his hands braced on Kenren's hips. Kenren could feel the tension in those hands, feel Tenpou's deceptively delicate fingers leaving new bruises on his skin, and he knew he wasn't the only one fighting for control. "Fuck, Tenpou, just do it. I won't break."

A shaky laugh was the only answer Kenren got, at first, and then Tenpou thrust in hard. "You're not allowed to. Who will clean my room?"

Even Kenren wasn't sure what he had meant to say to that, and whatever it was turned into a shuddering gasp as Tenpou started to fuck him in earnest. Kenren wanted nothing more than to wrap a hand around his own untouched cock, but even if he thought Tenpou was distracted enough to let it slide--he wasn't, the bastard would totally notice and he would stop--his arms were shaking like he'd been holding himself up for hours, instead of... however long they'd been at it. Probably not hours. "Tenpou..."

"I suppose you've been good enough for a reward."

Tenpou's hands were cruelly gentle on him, now, light touches that brought him just to the edge but never quite over. Minutes stretched out into forever, until Kenren could have sobbed from pleasure and frustration and he wasn't sure if it was a reward like Tenpou said, or maybe a punishment, or a little of both. Then Tenpou came inside him, and he stroked harder, faster, so that Kenren came just moments after and that, that was definitely a reward.

Kenren's arms gave out at last, but Tenpou caught him around the shoulders before he fell forward onto the bed, like he'd been waiting for it. Carefully not touching the bruises, Tenpou pulled Kenren back into his lap, and kissed the side of his neck. "I suppose I forgive you."

All Kenren could really do was laugh and lean back into Tenpou. It was almost too bad--that was a heck of a punishment. He could do without the injury that prompted it, but the rest of it? The rest of it he could definitely do again sometime.

He'd just have to come up with some interesting ways to get into trouble again.


End file.
